


Serendipity & Coincidence

by afteriwake



Series: The Summer Of 100 Surprise Stories - Summer 2018 [27]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Co-workers, Cockblock James T. Kirk, Coincidences, Conversations, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Crushes, Denial of Feelings, Developing Molly Hooper/Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Dinner, Earth, Enterprise, F/M, Flirty Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Flirty Molly Hooper, Fortune Telling, Friends to Lovers, Godchildren, Jealous Leonard "Bones" McCoy, MInor James T. Kirk/Carol Marcus - Freeform, Male-Female Friendship, McCoy In Denial, Molly Is In Starfleet, Observant Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Leonard McCoy, POV McCoy, Past Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, Post-Star Trek Beyond, Sad Molly Hooper, San Francisco, Single Parent Carol Marcus, Starfleet, Tea, Teasing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2019-03-19
Packaged: 2019-05-24 09:33:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14952128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: Bones knows one thing: he likes Dr. Molly Hooper and doesn't want his friendship with her to change...even if the voice in the back of his head says he'd like more than just a friendship with the female Starfleet officer. But a dare from Jim leads to more than he had expected and certainly more than he wanted...or could ever have hoped for.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dreamin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamin/gifts).



> So this was a summer surprise fic grabbed by **Dreamin** with a prompt I've been dying to write for ages from **[otpprompts](http://otpprompts.tumblr.com/post/146872667885/imagine-your-otp-are-friends-who-dare-each-other)** on Tumblr (" _Imagine your OTP are friends who dare each other to get their fortunes told. The fortune teller then tells them that they are destined lovers - and that they will soon be brought together by the powers of fate. Of course, the OTP doesn’t believe it. What follows is a strange series of events that suggest that fate really is bringing them together. Maybe a bouquet of flowers falls from the back of a bicycle and your OTP catch it, like at a wedding. Maybe they’re paired up for trust exercises, and one has to catch the other. Maybe they want to have a movie night in, but the only chocolate they can get happens to have hearts and pink packaging on it. Bonus if your OTP (or at least one person) keep shrugging off the events as they get more and more ridiculous._ ")

“What’s that about hocus-pocus?”

Leonard shook his head, the corner of his mouth quirking up. He should have used a different term to talk about the bullshit Jim was spouting instead of Molly’s favorite classic Earth movie. Mentioning anything related to the holiday of Halloween got her attention faster than...well, anything other than Andorian spirits. She could drink him under the table if they stuck with those. “Jim is saying there’s this place near the wharf with a fortune teller who actually tells the, and I quote, ‘honest to all that is holy truth.’ I call bullshit.”

“You mean there are still fortunetellers?” Molly asked, sitting in between him and Jim. He knew Jim wouldn’t care that she’d wedged herself in the middle of their conversation; since Carol was still in San Francisco at the Academy Molly had quickly taken her place of “favorite female on the medical crew” while they were on the Enterprise. Not that he fancied her, but he enjoyed her company, uptightly British as it could be sometimes.

 _Liar_ , the voice in the back of his head he generally ignored said. Ever since Yorktown the crew had had a bit of a shake-up, and it wasn’t a bad thing, he supposed, but it was still taking some getting used to. Chekov had left for a promotion on another ship, Sulu had left to be in more of Demora and Ben’s life, and Spock and Uhura were married now and, obviously, still in their honeymoon stage even a year later.

But all things changed, and he just rolled with it. So did Jim, for better or for worse.

“Well, it’s not a human. Some alien race that has premonitions. But this one...” Jim picked up his beer and waved it at her. “Look. When we make it back to Earth, I’ll take you both. You’ll see.”

“I still call bullshit,” Bones said, taking a sip of his own beer, which was promptly stolen by Molly. “Give that back.”

“You can’t even have a proper pint?” she asked, looking at the bottle. “At least have a bottle of Scotty’s moonshine.”

“And how do you know that exists?” he asked.

“Because Scotty snuck me into your shared bar last week when I told him I could acquire Klingon firewine,” she said with a smirk. “You keep your loo a shambles, by the way.”

“I’d have invited you eventually,” he said as Jim tried not to laugh.

“To quote your favourite word, bullshit,” she said, taking a sip of his beer. 

“That’s not my favorite word, darlin’.”

“Oh?” Molly asked. “And just what would it be?”

“Look, I hate to interrupt this game of one-upmanship, but I’ve got captain’s logs to fill out,” Jim said, and Bones was almost sure he’d be talking about the relationship between him and Molly to someone. Probably Sulu. Maybe Chekov. He kept in touch with them. “Have my beer, Molly. It’s at least Irish lager.”

“Thank you, Captain. Someone has taste,” she said, taking his beer.

Bones shook his head. “Good night, _Captain_ ,” he said.

“Don’t do anyone I wouldn’t do!” Jim said with a smirk as he clapped Bones on his shoulder just as he took a sip of his own beer again, nearly spitting it out.

“One day I’m going to murder him in his sleep with a dozen hypos,” he muttered.

“No, you won’t. You like my company too much to be locked up, and we’re almost home.” Molly had some of Jim’s beer. “You’d miss freedom too much.”

He pointed to her new beer with his. “How many of those have you had?”

“Probably too many,” she said with a laugh. “The mission is almost over! Cause for celebration, don’t you think?”

“I suppose,” he said. He clinked his bottle against hers. “Just promise things won’t change too much when we get back to Earth, okay?”

“Promise,” she said. She drew a cross over her heart with her finger. “Cross my heart and...well, let’s leave the rest unsaid.”

 _Among other things_ , he thought to himself before taking a sip. Probably too many other things, but he liked what he had with her and he was afraid they’d do something stupid and change the status quo.

And that was precisely what he hoped never happened.


	2. Chapter 2

It didn’t take much longer for them to arrive back to Earth, and he had to admit, he was almost going to miss the ship. He’d spent so much damn time on the various Enterprises that had existed that it really had become his second home. And...well, not that there was much for him on Earth, to be honest. Joanna had gotten old enough to stand up to her mom and had gone to San Francisco for the Academy to follow in her dad’s footsteps, so that was something. But there had been so many changes and so many friends had left that it wasn’t the same.

But there was at least one other person happy to see him, he saw as Carol was there when the shuttle touched down in San Francisco. Not only was she there, but she was also very much not pregnant anymore, as was apparent by the bundle in her arms.

“You had the baby!” Jim said his eyes wide as he made grabby motions.

“I did,” Carol said with a nod. “A very healthy baby boy named James Leonard Marcus. I hope you two don’t mind?”

“Not at all, darlin,” Leonard said, giving her a hug as soon as Jim had taken the baby out of her arms. “It’s an honor to have my name go on like that.”

“I should hope so. I know I had wanted to be on the Enterprise with you all, but...” She shrugged. “It’s easier to be a single parent on Earth than it is on the ship.”

“I’ll smuggle you both in on the next voyage,” Leonard said as he kept an arm around her shoulders. “You aren’t going to get that baby away from Jim, you know that, right?”

“Yes, I am fully aware of that, but perhaps I can get some rest.”

Doctor mode switched on as he looked his friend over. “How much sleep are you getting, Carol?”

“Leonard, really, it’s not that bad. James sleeps so well and more often than most babies his age.” She leaned her head against his shoulder. “And I may have made the acquaintance of one Joanna McCoy who was happy to find someone who knew her dad while he’d been on the Enterprise. She babysits as often as she can.”

“Now why didn’t the little sneak tell me?” Leonard said, shaking his head but still grinning.

“Because she’s gathering blackmail from Carol,” Jim said. “Isn’t she, James? Yes, she is!”

“He’s a natural,” Leonard said.

“Yes, he is,” Carol said softly, seeing something in her gaze and hearing it in her tone that the sight of Jim with her baby might be a sight she’d like to get quite used to. The two of them had flirted once but he’d had the feeling Jim and Carol had bonded in an entirely different way. He’d almost wondered if Jim was the baby’s father, as close as they were, but now he was wondering if Carol would _like_ Jim to be the father.

Could have picked a worse choice, he thought. Actually, Jim, as he was now, could probably be a good dad, and maybe a good husband to boot.

“Carol!” Nyota’s voice broke him out of his thoughts and he saw Spock, Molly, and her approach them. Carol moved away from him and gave Nyota a big hug, and then nodded to Spock. “Jim, hand the baby after.”

“My godson, not yours,” Jim said. Then he looked up. “Right?”

“Well, Jim, you’re the godfather but Nyota _is_ James’s godmum, so share.” Carol smiled at the only person she didn’t know. “Hello, I’m Carol Marcus,” she said to Molly.

“Molly Hooper,” Molly said with a wide smile. “I’ve heard so many good things about you.”

“And a bit not-so-good, I’m sure,” Carol said with a chuckle. “And I’ve heard much about you.” She gave Leonard a glance that was accompanied with a smirk that made him feel uneasy. He couldn’t have possibly have indicated he had an interest in Molly when he was talking to Carol, had he? “I’m inviting everyone for supper tonight and you’re more than welcome to come. I think Pavel said he’d try and message me tonight so we can all talk.”

“I’d love to join you,” Molly said.

“I can bring you,” Leonard said. “I know where Carol lives.”

“Well, why don’t you escort me home and then you’ll know where I live too,” Molly said. Leonard did not miss the glance between Nyota and Carol or the smirk on Jim’s face. Dammit, this did not bode well...


	3. Chapter 3

Molly had invited him inside after he had taken her back to “her flat away from home,” as she called it. He knew she was from London and had had a place there near where an old hospital had been, St. Bartholomew’s, and it had been learning about the history of that hospital when she was a girl that had made her want to get into medical science. She’d almost decided upon teaching at the Academy but the chance to join the crew of the Enterprise had come up and she’d decided the chance to work with him was better than teaching.

He’d been flattered when she’d told him, of course, but had intended to keep her at arm's length. But when he realized most of their support crew were younger and all pairing off amongst themselves, he’d found himself drawn to her. She was a very serious doctor, but get a bit of her free time and she was a delight to be around. He appreciated her as both a colleague and a friend, but even though he wanted more he was loathe to jump on the chance to change their relationship, no matter how much she flirted.

He just didn’t want to hurt her, even if it meant hurting him.

He wasn’t surprised that her apartment was full of flora from all over. Her specialty was xenopathology, and she’d spent quite a bit of time around the dead to learn her skills. So to have all this life in her flat wasn’t surprising, especially considering how often the time they had spent together was in the ship's botanical garden when it wasn’t at the bar.

“Sulu would be in awe of your place,” he said, looking around.

“Rather like living in the middle of a tropical forest, isn’t it?” she said with a smile. “Want a cuppa before you go see your daughter?”

He nodded. He really did want to see Joanna, but it would be nice to have a moment to just relax from everything they’d been doing to get the ship ready for docking until the next mission. It was going to mean at least six months planetside, but it would be nice to reconnect with his daughter and get to know his godson.

And, perhaps, continue his friendship with Molly. She had already agreed to teach a special course at the Academy, so she had plans, but if she could squeeze him into her life here in San Francisco, he’d like that. He’d like that a lot, actually, but he wasn’t about to tell her so.

She seemed to use an electric kettle rather than a replicator, which was nice. As much as he could make himself enjoy replicated food, it was so much better when it was all the real thing. He was a damn good cook and enjoyed doing it as a way of destressing. It had been a learned skill by enforced bachelor life, but it was something he was damn good at and liked to show off whenever he could.

Soon he and Molly each had a cup of tea. He thought it was Earl Grey, her favourite, the one she had every morning when she was on the Enterprise before she started her rounds for the day. Most mornings she brought it herself but sometimes she forgot and he’d make sure she had it and she always took it with a smile on her face. Kind of like the one she had on now.

“Carol is nice,” she said before taking a sip.

“Yeah. She’s a weapons specialist, but after...certain events, she went to work with me on upgrading the medical technology on the ship. I’ve missed her since she left.”

“May I ask what happened? Just so I don’t speak out of place tonight.”

“I don’t think she’ll mind,” he said after thinking a moment. “Carol was with us until Yorktown, when we had the incident with ---. She had been withdrawn and sad for a while, and it turned out she was pregnant. The father was a man who had been killed in an away mission that she’d had a one night fling with before the mission and she didn’t know what to do. She wanted to stay on for the rest of the trip but also wanted more stability for herself and the baby, which was understandable, so she came back to Earth and...”

“And then I came on the crew when the Enterprise went to continue its mission, so I just missed her,” she said. “Does she fancy the Captain?”

“You noticed?” he asked, surprised because she had been farther away when it had been apparent to him.

“I could see it in the way she looked at him while he held her son,” she said. “I think he could settle down with her and be happy.”

“Are you a matchmaker?” he asked.

She tapped the side of her nose. “I have a nose for that sort of thing, I suppose. I’m usually quite good at guessing who will work out well together and who won’t.” Then she had a rueful smile. “At least aside from my own love life. There, I have a pitiful track record.”

“Eh, you can’t be worse than me,” he said.

“I was engaged when I was in London,” she said. The amusement dropped off his face because he realized she hadn’t told him anything about this before. “Consulting detective, named after the old Earth consulting detective. You know, Sherlock Holmes? And we were happy, I suppose, but...it wasn’t enough. He would always be chasing the next case, trying to expand his reputation, and I just felt forgotten. I left the ring on the nightstand and came to San Francisco to teach before getting the opportunity to go to Yorktown and join the Enterprise crew. So I took it and I’ve never really looked back.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, and he meant it.

“Oh, it’s alright,” she said, taking one hand off her cup and waving it. “Really, it was the best decision. He’s gotten involved with an opera singer named Irene, according to the news I saw before we left the Enterprise. I don’t even think he missed me. Maybe we’d fallen out of love and were just holding onto the familiar, I don’t know. But my leaving was what needed to be done.” She had some more of her tea. “And now I’ve gone and spoiled the whole mood.”

“I think I can cheer it back up,” he said, giving her a warm smile. He got one in return and then made a mental note to send a message to Joanna that he might be a little late seeing her today...


	4. Chapter 4

He was about an hour and a half late for getting to see his daughter. Not all of it had been because of Molly; she had suggested his daughter might like a gift of flowers and they had gone to a florist nearby to pick something out for her. Molly said roses were best, and so now he had a dozen white roses for Joanna as a belated congratulatory gift for getting into the Academy.

He was more nervous than he wanted to admit, to be honest with himself. While he knew Joanna had gone against her mother’s wishes to join him in Starfleet, and also knew that she was helping Carol while they had been gone, it still made him nervous because he had missed so much of her life, between her mother keeping them apart in Georgia and the time he’d been on the Enterprise and in San Francisco.

But when she saw him she had a wide smile on her face and stood up, arms open wide as she moved closer. “Daddy!” she replied before hugging him, being careful not to crush the flowers.

“Hey, sweetie,” he said, his voice thick. She was nearly as tall as him, maybe just a few inches shorter, and she’d turned out to be a lovely young woman. She was in a dress in the same sort of style Nyota liked to wear, floral on a black background, and it was paired with a black cardigan. Her hair was long but pulled back into a high ponytail, and he saw at some point she had run red highlights through her black hair, giving it a rather distinctive look. “You look beautiful.”

“Aww, thank you,” she said as she pulled back. “Are those for me?”

He nodded. “Sort of as a congratulatory gift for getting into the Academy.” He handed her the flowers. “I’m sorry I’m late. I was taking a friend home so I would know where to pick her up for dinner at Carol’s tonight.”

“Well, I’m doing double duty with medical school and the Academy and helping Carol with James, but today was one of those rare free days so I have all the time in the world.” Her eyes were sparkling. “This friend of yours, Dad...was she the one Carol said Jim said you’ve been making goo-goo eyes at?”

He rolled his eyes and muttered a curse under his breath. “I’m going to kill him,” he said a bit louder.

“Don’t you dare! That would make Carol real sad,” she replied. “But it’s fine. Mom’s a bitch--”

“Watch your language,” he said almost automatically.

“Well, she is. She had no right to keep us apart all those years. I mean, I know your time on the Enterprise and all that you wouldn’t have gotten to see me, but I could have come to visit!”

“Yeah, I know,” he said, putting an arm around her shoulders. “But you’re here now, so that’s something.” He turned and gave her a grin. “Med school, huh?”

“Figured if I was going to follow in my Daddy’s footsteps I should go the whole nine yards,” she said with a smile. “Plus it pisses Mom of more.”

“You aren’t just doing it out of spite, are you?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I was a volunteer nurse back home at the hospital. I liked it a lot but I wanted more. Took the nurses training at a vocational school while I was finishing my high school education, and so I’m a Licensed Practical Nurse. I’ll tell you, it’s helped with the stuff in med school. Some of my classmates know nothing about how to treat patients.”

He stopped and hugged her, not caring who saw them. “I’m so proud of you, sweetie.”

“Thanks, Dad,” she replied. When he let go she nodded to the restaurant. “Let’s go eat. I’m _starving_ and we have so much to talk about.” He nodded and they headed towards the restaurant she had picked out. All in all, this had gone much more smoothly than he had ever anticipated it would, which was nice. He just hoped having Joanna and Molly together at the dinner tonight wouldn’t be awkward. That was the last thing he needed.


	5. Chapter 5

A few hours after he was done seeing his daughter it was time for Carol’s dinner party. He was not at all amused to find he was seated between his daughter and Molly, but he was pleased the two of them seemed to get along well. Molly had been quite impressed that Joanna was a nurse, and Joanna wanted to know all about England. He had the feeling she was planning a trip at some point, maybe with the boy she’d talked about that he had yet to meet. But really, he had no right to be an intimidating dad, even though he wanted to; he was in his daughter’s good graces and he wanted to stay there.

Soon the dinner was winding down and everyone was moving into conversations in trios or duos. The only exception was when Carol had Chekov message them, and all of those who knew him crowded around, saying hello and catching up. He noticed Molly and Joanna went off and had a conversation between themselves, and it looked as though it was going well.

When it got obvious he was done chatting with Chekov he went over to the two of them. “Having fun?” he asked.

“Oh, quite a bit,” Molly said with a smile. “Carol is quite sweet, and it’s nice to do something like this without it being in the mess.”

“Yeah, it is kind of nice not feeling like we’re in high school or something. Though this does kind of feel more like the conversations in the bar, where we had booze.”

“This wine is excellent,” Molly said. “But you’re right, it does remind me of those times.” She turned to Joanna. “You father shares a loo with Scotty and they have the most amazing selection of alien spirits in there.”

“Oh, do you?” Joanna asked. She wasn’t having wine, but she had a faux cocktail that Jim had whipped up for her and seemed happy enough.

“Yeah, well, it’s more Scotty’s stuff than mine,” he said with a grin. “Hence why he invited Molly in and I didn’t.”

“You should have, Dad. That’s not cool.” Joanna gave them both a grin as he went to take a sip of his wine. “He doesn’t know how to flirt.”

That led to him choking on his drink, and Molly looked at him with alarm. “Leonard?”

“Fine, I’m fine,” he got out, giving his daughter a glare which she returned with a smug smile. “I do so know how to flirt. I just feel I shouldn’t flirt with co-workers.”

“Why not?” Joanna and Molly asked almost in chorus, with Joanna adding, “It’s not like you two aren’t friendly.” Molly blushed at that, but before he had to say anything else, it appeared the conversation with Chekov was over and Jim was clearing his throat. Leonard suppressed a groan at whatever idea Jim might have.

“So, I thought we could all go down to the wharf,” Jim said. “Just kind of look around, enjoy being home...we could all visit the fortune teller that I was telling Bones and Molly about the last time we were at the ship’s bar together...”

“Jim,” he said, but the others seemed enthusiastic about it, even Molly. Joanna was offering to watch James and Carol was looking at him with a hand motion saying he should go, and he sighed. “Fine, fine. But if it’s crap, I’m going to crow that I was right.”

“Who knows, Bones?” Jim said, coming up and clapping his shoulder. “You might get some news that puts a smile on that face of yours.” He motioned for Carol to come over and offered her his arm. “Our chariot awaits, milady.”

“Motorcycle?” Carol asked, her eyes bright. He nodded. “Oh good.” Spock and Uhura soon followed the two of them to the door and that led Leonard to turn to Molly.

“Do you want to go?” he asked her.

“I think it could be fun, yes.” She reached over and took his arm in his and then patted it. “Live a little, Leonard. Have some fun for a change.”

“Only because you want to go, I’ll go,” he said, not missing the triumphant look his daughter gave him. “Come on. Let’s make sure Jim doesn’t get himself in trouble.” Molly chuckled at that and they headed towards the door. He had a sinking suspicion that tonight was going to make things very difficult in the future for him and Molly to simply stay friends, but there was no way he could voice that when everyone seemed to want them to be more.

But what did she want? That’s what he wondered most of all.


	6. Chapter 6

He wondered how Jim had heard of this supposed fortune teller because the entrance to their place was down the smallest alley in San Francisco, he reckoned. They all had to go through in a single file line to the other end of the alley, where there was a garden that was well lit and covered with a terrarium-type roof. There was a door there and a small group of people waiting around the various seats and whatnot. “This looks rather like a garden party,” Carol remarked, still holding Jim’s hand from their moving down the alley.

“Not everyone gets picked their first time here, but I get the feeling we will,” Jim said with a grin. “I got told to bring my crew.” Then he pointed at him and Molly. “Especially you two. They said they had something to say to the skeptic.”

“Hell, Jim, you are such a fool,” Leonard muttered, shaking his head. “That could have been any number of people.”

“No it wasn’t, Leonard McCoy,” a voice said from behind the door. It had a musical lilt and sounded multi-tonal. “Bring your female friend to the room behind the door.”

A small path parted between the people crowded nearest the door almost to his feet, but before he could say anything Molly had grabbed his hand and began to walk towards the door, and all he could do was follow her as the rest of their friends made their way to seats to continue conversations or start new ones with strangers.

Molly got to the door and opened it, and there was a warm amber light-filled room with a slight smoky haze smelling of peach. He felt slightly lulled by that, as peaches reminded him of home, but the minute he thought that he felt his hackles go up. “Not going to be tricked by the smell of fresh peaches,” he muttered.

“Peaches?” Molly asked, and he saw in the dim light she was frowning. “I smell cinnamon and cardamom and apple, like spiced cider.”

That was...unusual, but soon they were greeted by a veiled alien. The only way Leonard could tell they weren’t human was the blue skin. “No one smells the same thing when they enter the room,” the fortune teller said with a gesture indicating they should sit. “But those that have their fates tied smell similar things.”

“So us smelling food means we’re fated to be together?” Leonard asked.

“Perhaps,” the fortune teller said. “Let us see, shall we?” They sat and Leonard crossed his arms across his chest. “It’s a good thing I need not touch you in any way because I doubt you will give me your hand, though perhaps Margaret will be far luckier.”

“Oh, Bones doesn’t like me like that,” Molly said, ducking her head down, and he almost wanted to say the hell with it, yes he did, can we go on a proper date now? But he stopped himself and looked away.

“Perhaps that is a closely held secret, it seems,” the fortune teller said. “But your fates are destined to be tied together, and soon the universe will make you well aware. Serendipity & coincidence, it will seem, but it will be more than that. And perhaps...happiness and mended hearts. But only together, not apart.”

“You tell Jim something similar?” Leonard asked.

“I told him he would be happy with his family of his choosing, and they would be happiest if they saw me. I will speak to all of your friends tonight. No sad news, not after all that you have been through, all that you have lost. Only happiness in things found and things regained.” The fortune teller lapsed into silence and it stretched out long enough that he knew it was their cue to leave. He stood up first and, as a gentleman would, offered his hand to Molly to help her up. She stumbled slightly, though, and fell into him as he caught her. After a moment she looked up at his face and smiled before slowly disentangling herself.

“Thank you,” she said before brushing down the front of her dress to smooth it.

“Welcome,” he murmured. Molly went to the door first and opened it, stepping outside, and as Leonard left he heard the fortune teller tell him one last thing:

“It has begun.” 

He scowled slightly and made his way out. It was all bullshit, obviously, but he didn’t want to discount how _right_ holding Molly had been. But was he going to credit a fortune teller for putting the idea they were fated to be together in his head?

Hell no.


End file.
